My liver and brain were ripped out and
smeared on the ground.(肝腦塗地)
The Zhou dynasty in China lasted from 1046
BC to 256 BC.
The period from 770 BC to 476 BC is known
as the Spring and Autumn period, while the period from 476 BC to 221 BC is
known as the Warring States period.
At that time, the supreme leader of China
was the king of the Zhou dynasty.
The Zhou king established more than 100
vassal states, each of which became a kingdom.
These kingdoms waged many fierce wars over
land and resources. Sometimes they cooperated and sometimes they were hostile
towards each other — it was an extremely chaotic era.
History books record a story from the Chu
Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn period.
The Jin Kingdom, which was far more
powerful than Chu, attacked Chu, plunging it into a great crisis. The King of
Chu went to the front lines himself to lead the resistance against the Jin
attack.
On the first day of the war, Chu was at a
disadvantage. However, at this crucial moment, a young Chu officer courageously
led his soldiers in an attack on the Jin army.
His courage inspired the other Chu officers
and soldiers. The Chu army halted its retreat and fought with all its might,
successfully repelling the Jin Kingdom's attack.
The situation on the second, third, fourth
and fifth days was very similar. The Chu Kingdom was initially at a
disadvantage, but the brave young officer did not retreat or succumb to fear.
Each day, he led his soldiers with unwavering determination.
Thanks to this young officer, the fighting
spirit of the Chu army was not broken.
On the sixth day, the situation began to
turn in their favour. The Jin Kingdom's soldiers began to feel fear. They had
not expected the Chu army to be so tenacious, and thoughts of retreating began
to enter their minds.
Ultimately, the Kingdom of Chu emerged
victorious, transforming itself into an extremely powerful kingdom.
At the victory banquet, the King of Chu
summoned the young, brave officer and asked him,
'When everyone else was terrified by the
enemy's strength, why did you remain so confident?'
The young officer remained silent for
several seconds, then took a deep breath and replied to the king.
'Your Majesty, do you remember ordering all
officers and generals present at a banquet three years ago to remove the tassel
from their helmets, a decoration symbolising their rank?'
Many officers discussed it afterwards,
wondering why you had demanded this. But I know why you did it. You gave the
order because of me.
I was the one who, drunk that day, lost
control and acted disrespectfully towards your concubine.
From that day on, I have told myself,
'Because of your forgiveness and tolerance, I am alive. If I have the chance, I
will find a way to repay your kindness.'" The officer paused, then looked
resolutely at the king and continued, "After the Jin Kingdom launched its
attack, I told myself,
'My chance to repay you has come. I will
fight to uphold the dignity of the Chu Kingdom and your honour. Even if I die a
horrible death and my liver and brain are ripped out and smeared on the ground,
I will bravely rush towards my enemy.'
It was with this mindset that I was able to
maintain such high morale for so many days.'
After hearing the young officer's words,
the King of Chu was speechless. He slowly stepped forward and embraced the
young officer tightly.
The idiom literally translates as 'my liver
and brain were ripped out and smeared on the ground'.
It is used to describe someone dying in a
tragic way.
It is also used metaphorically to describe
someone willing to sacrifice their life to accomplish something.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts did you gain from this story?
Are there any values in your life that are more
important than life itself? Have you ever felt grateful for the kindness of
others?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
肝腦塗地(My liver and brain were ripped out
and smeared on the ground.)
中國周王朝的政權從公元前1046年延續到公元前256年。
其中從公元前770年到公元前476年這段時間被稱為春秋時代，公元前476年到公元前221年這段時間被稱為戰國時代
當時中國的最高領導人是周王朝的國王。
周王朝的國王把土地分封給100多個諸侯，這些諸侯各自成立的自己的王國。
這些王國之間為了爭奪土地與資源而發生許多慘烈的戰爭，這些王國之間有時候相互合作有時候彼此敵對，那是一個極度混亂的年代。
歷史書上記載了一個春秋時代的楚王國所發生的故事。
遠遠比楚王國強大的晉王國發動軍隊攻打楚王國，楚王國陷入巨大的危機中，楚王國的國王親自到最前線去指揮並對抗晉王國的攻擊。
戰爭正式開打的第一天，楚王國陷於劣勢，但就在這個時候，楚王國中有一個年輕的軍官勇敢地帶領著他手下的士兵們衝向晉王國的軍隊。
這個軍官的勇敢感染了其他的楚王國的軍官與士兵，楚王國的軍隊停止撤退，所有的軍官與士兵們使出全力，楚王國的士兵們成功地阻擋了晉王國的攻擊。
戰爭的第二天、第三天、第四天、第五天的情況與第一天的戰爭情況非常的類似，楚王國一開始都陷於劣勢，但是那一個勇敢的年輕軍官都沒有因此而感到恐懼與退縮，他每一天都拚盡全力帶領著他手下的士兵對抗敵人。
因為這個年輕的軍官的緣故，楚王國的軍隊的戰鬥意志沒有被打垮。
戰爭到了第六天後，情況開始逆轉，晉王國的軍隊的士兵們開始覺得恐懼，他們沒有想到楚王國的軍隊如此頑強，他們的心中萌生了退縮的意念。
這場戰爭的結果是楚王國贏得了最後的勝利，楚王國也因為這場戰役蛻變成為一個極其強大的王國。
在慶功宴上，楚王國的國王特別召見了這位年輕的勇敢的軍官，他對這個軍官說。
當眾人都因為敵人的強大而感到恐懼時，為何你仍舊保持著高昂的鬥志呢?
那個年輕的軍官沉默了十幾秒鐘，接著他深吸了一口氣後對國王說。
國王你不知道還記不記得，在三年前的一場宴會中，你下令要求當天參加宴會的所有軍官與將軍都要把頭盔上那一根用來裝飾與象徵位階的流蘇扯下來。
當天有很多軍官事後議論，他們不知道你為何要要求所有人都這樣做，但是我知道你為何要這樣做，你是因為我才下達這個命令。
我就是那一個當天喝醉後，克制不了自己的衝動所以對你的妃子做了沒有禮貌的事情的人。
從那一天之後，我就對我自己說。因為你的原諒和寬容，所以我才能夠活著，如果有機會我一定要想辦法回報你的恩情。
這個軍官停頓了一下，接著他堅定地看著國王說。
晉王國發動攻擊之後，我對我自己說。
我回報你的機會已經到了，我要為了維護楚王國的尊嚴和你的榮譽而戰，就算我會死得很慘，就算我的肝臟與大腦被敵人挖出來塗抹在地上，我也會勇敢地撲向我的敵人。
我就是抱持著這種心態，我才能夠持續多天保持極其高昂的鬥志。
楚王國的國王聽完這個年輕軍官的話後，他不知道該說什麼話，他慢慢地走向前，然後用力地擁抱那個年輕的軍官。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是我的肝臟與大腦被敵人挖出來塗抹在地上。
這句成語被用來形容一個人以一種非常悲慘的方式死去。
這句成語被引申用來比喻一個人願意不計代價甚至犧牲自己的生命也要完成一件事情。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你的人生中有那些價值比生命更重要嗎?你是否曾經因為別人的恩惠而感念在心呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為說苑-卷6-復恩
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E8%AA%AA%E8%8B%91/%E5%8D%B706